1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to pouches and, more particularly, to a stand-up pouch with a collapsible body.
2. Background of the Invention
A typical pouch for the storage of items, such as food or other household items, is made of a thin film, such as thermoplastic or foil, so that the pouch is flexible enough to be collapsed into a substantially flat or folded configuration and expanded to accommodate items that are stored therein. Generally, the typical pouch is unable to stand upright by itself without some external support, such as from a user holding the pouch open. In addition, the typical pouch commonly includes heat seals along the sides and/or bottom, along which leaks or tears may be more likely to occur.
Attempts have been made in the past to modify a typical pouch such that a user does not have to hold the pouch open while trying to fill an interior thereof, in order to free up both hands of the user during the filling process. Prior attempts have focused on creating complex gusset patterns in walls of the pouch and/or to rely on using complicated multilayer wall panels, wherein the wall panels may be extruded by conventional web extrusion methods and subsequently formed and sealed along seams into the general form of a pouch.
One suggested modification to the typical pouch includes providing gusseted wall panels, such as a bottom gusset, front and back panels, and first and second gusseted side panels. The bottom gusset is expandable to provide a simple base structure upon which the pouch can stand in an upright position. The gusseted wall panels are made from a constant thickness film, wherein the sidewalls of the pouch are flexible and tend to fold over or collapse when the pouch is not filled. Further, the pouch with gusseted wall panels can include a multipart closure profile at an upper opening thereof. The multipart closure profile is a relatively complex structure that includes inwardly facing profiles on opposite inner surfaces of the front and back panels and outwardly facing profiles on adjacent outer surfaces of the first and second gusseted side panels. In order to seal the opening of the pouch, the front and back panels are folded together so that the inwardly facing profiles interlock, while each of the first and second gusseted side panels are folded generally in half, so that the outwardly facing profiles interlock.
Another suggested modification to the typical pouch is to form a pouch from a multilayer film that is heat-sealed together along side and bottom portions thereof to form a pouch with a bottom gusset. More specifically, the multilayer film must be composed of materials that are heat-sealable at different ranges of temperatures to avoid heat sealing incorrect walls together during the manufacturing process.